A Circle of Gold
by Medea Arduinna
Summary: Hermione is kidnapped by none other than Mr. Draco Malfoy. But why? And how long will she stay? VERY loosely based on The Beauty and the Beast but not really. Read and review!


A Circle of Gold

-Chapter One- 

_Time here all but means nothing just shadows that move across the wall_

_They keep me company but they don't ask of me_

_They don't say nothing at all_

_And I need just a little more silence_

_And I need just a little more time_

_You send your thieves to me, silently stalking me_

_Dragging me into your war_

_Won't you give me no choice in this_

_I know you can't resist_

_Trying to reopen a sore_

_Leave me be, I don't wanna argue_

_I just get confused and I come all undone_

_And if I agree, well it's just to appease you_

_'Cause I don't remember what we're fighting for._

_You see love a tight thorny thread that you spin in a circle of gold_

_To have me, to hold me, a token for all to see, captured to be yours alone_

_So I need just a little more silence_

_And I need just a little more time_

**_Courage to pull away_**

**_There will be hell to pay_**

**_Deeply a cut to the bone_**

_Leave me be, I don't wanna argue_

_I just get confused and I come all undone_

_And if I agree, well it's just to appease you_

_'Cause I don't remember what we're fighting for._

**_Time here all but means nothing just shadows that move across the wall_**

_They keep me company but they don't ask of me_

_They don't say nothing at all_

****

**_So leave me be, I don't wanna argue_**

_I just get confused and I come all undone_

_And if I agree, well it's just to appease you****_

**_'Cause I don't remember what we're fighting for._**

-"Time" by Sarah McLachlan-

**

            Golden-white beams of sunlight fell through the curtains of the window - right on Hermione Granger's face. She groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. She breathed in the unfamiliar scent - like a sort of spicy perfume, much unlike her own perfume's scent of lilies and lilacs and daffodils - and shifted in the bed, just then noticing the softness of it. She sat up, and the heavy, thick down comforter fell from staying around her chest to her waist. Her head throbbed with every second, and she felt like she'd been hit in the face with a Bludger. Her dark brown eyes took in the room - the mahogany furniture, which included a vanity, bureau, bed, and bedside table; the blood red-and-gold wallpaper and carpet; the black silk hangings around the four-poster she was in; and the three huge bay windows. Needless to say, it didn't take an idiot to figure out she wasn't in her bedroom.

            Hermione threw back the covers, her heart quickening with every breath she took, and discovered she was in the same outfit she'd worn to the club, save the shoes of course, which sat by her bed neatly. She left them off as she climbed out of bed, ran a hand through her unruly curls and padded over to the door, making her way out of the room. She found herself in a very large hallway, three doors to her right, a small staircase to her left, leading down to a landing. From there the large swooping grand staircase stood, which was decorated with a black runner down the middle of the stairs. Leading off the right side of the staircase was another set of stairs and more rooms. Straight ahead, if you were walking up the grand staircase, was another staircase, leading up to the third floor.

            So, Hermione obviously was in a mansion, but whose? And why? She carefully made her way down the stairs, holding onto the black banister just in case. She didn't get an uneasy feeling being in this new unfamiliar place, but somehow she knew she should. Maybe it was the hangover. When she arrived at the foot of the stairs she found herself in the grand foyer, a large chandelier hanging over her head - unlit, as enough sunlight was pouring in through the windows above the door to light up the foyer all the way into the kitchen, which was straight ahead. To her right was a large parlor, with a nine-foot-high fireplace and maroon chairs and a black-and-gold throw rug on the blood red carpet. To her left was the dining room, which had a long mahogany table and chairs, red cushions on the chairs and clear crystal candleholders holding red candles on the table. _Reminds me of a vampire's house...or an old Gothic cathedral._ A bathroom was ahead and to the right, just before the kitchen on a side door that ran beneath the stairwell.

            Hermione, feeling utterly confused as one can imagine, walked softly into the dining room, her adrenaline racing and her head still pounding with every step she took.

            "Well, it's about time you got up, Granger." She didn't have to turn to see who it was, but she did. Her eyes were ablaze already as they locked with the steely-gray ones of Draco Malfoy.

            "What in bloody hell am I doing in the presence of _you_? I wouldn't think you'd want a _Muggle-born _such as myself dirtying up your precious daddy's mansion." His eyes narrowed.

            "Don't you dare speak to me like that, Granger, while you're at _my_ house. That's right, _my_ house. It's not my father's anymore since he and my mother died. Have you finally lost your mind?" He looked almost gleeful at the idea.

            "Not at all, Malfoy, sorry to disappoint you and all."

            "Well, we'll just have to see about that. I can do with you as I please here and nobody would ever know. Oh, don't give me that look, I didn't mean _that_ for God's sake. I would never defile my pure blood like that -"

            "Egotistical prat," Hermione muttered. Draco continued as if he hadn't heard her; though, perhaps he hadn't.

            "- but anyhow, if you haven't figured it out, O-Knowing-One, I've kidnapped you." She mock-gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in an exaggerated gesture.

            "REALLY NOW! And do grace me with your golden reasoning behind that!"

            "To get back at Potter, for something he did seventh year." He spoke as if she didn't know what happened - as if she was completely stupid.

            "Oh, come on, that was _seven _years ago, and hell, you deserved it! Besides, it's not as if _you_ cared about her."

            "Shut up! You don't know _anything_ about me, you hear that? Nothing."

            "Yeah, well, I know Harry. And he won't fall for your tricks; he knows how you are." Draco raised his eyebrows, smoothly folding his arms over his chest. _He sure gained his composure fast._

            "Please, Granger, I could really do without your biased, Mudblood opinion about your dear lover friend -"

            "He's NOT my lover!"

            "I didn't even say your lover as in boyfriend, so unless you really _are_ lovers and we didn't know about this, I'm just going to let that slide." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Now, if you'll _allow_ me - and even if you won't - I need to show you around - you'll be staying for quite a while if what you say about dear Potty is true."

~*~

            Nearly an hour later, Hermione was even more cross than when she woke up, and her headache sure hadn't gotten any better. Draco was just coming up to a door that stood about ten feet high and had beautiful, expertise carvings in the wood, with brass curving handles fashioned in the shape of a snake twining its way around the handle.

            "I saved this room for last because I knew you'd be in it the most because you're, well you're you, and that's enough said," said Draco, a hint of disgust in his voice. "But here you are." He opened the doors and she gasped, her mouth falling open a bit and her eyes widening. The ceiling stretched incredibly high, allowing room for the ceiling-high bookshelves to hold all the books they did hold, books with covers ranging from the darkest, deepest reds and blacks to the lightest silvery-greens and cherry-reds. Rosewood ladders stood on casters, ready to assist her to the books, and four reading desks were set up in different spots around the room. Many large arched windows' curtains, all a gold silk material, were swept back, allowing sunlight to filter into the room, which smelled of old books and wood.

            "It was my mother's library. I've never been allowed in it but you won't have to worry about cursed books - too bad - because Mother didn't allow those books in her library, and there're protection charms here for those books if you tried to sneak one in. So...enjoy, and I'll be downstairs." He started to leave but Hermione turned.

            "Malfoy?"

            "What, Granger?" he sighed and turned back around.

            "I - I just want to say thank you. Even if you had to kidnap me - a very, _very_ stupid move, let me just say - at least you have a library to make up for it. So I might reconsider trying to kill you in your sleep." He snorted.

            "Whatever, Granger, just don't bother me any, as I'm going to be in my study, which is directly below this. So keep whatever you do by yourself down." He smirked and headed down the staircase to the second floor, where her bedroom and his study were. She quickly followed him and caught him just as he was about to go into his study.

            "Where can I change my clothes? Because if you think I'm going around for however-the-hell long it takes for you to let me go in this, you're quite mistak -"

            "Don't get your knickers in a twist, you'll find clothes that I believe will fit you in that bureau in your room. You're about the size my mother was, and if not, I'm sure you know the shrinking charms and whatnot." He stepped inside his study and closed the door. She sighed and started to head up the stairs, to take a nap and hopefully relieve her headache.


End file.
